About the Author : Ravi Subramanian, an alumnus of IIM Bangalore, is a best-selling Indian author with a number of commercially successful novels under his belt. I've personally enjoyed his novel, 'If God Was a Banker' in the past. Here's a link to his official site : http://www.ravisubramanian.in/
Get your copy of this book from Amazon! The Bestseller She Wrote
Cover : When you first get hold of the book you notice the bright yellow cover and the words "Love. Betrayal. Redemption" etched on it, that is an instant eye grabber and might have compelled me to pick this book had I seen it in a bookstore. Now I hate it when book covers come with blurbs or stickers saying- 'soon to be a motion picture' or 'now a major motion picture' and sadly this cover does have a blurb at the bottom. But I am willing to let it slide since it does not clash with the cover theme.
Plot : Here's what Amazon.in had to say about the plot -
"He was a bestseller… She wanted him to make her one.
Paperback king, Aditya Kapoor’s life is straight out of a modern man’s fantasy. His literary stardom is perfectly balanced by a loving wife and a spectacular career. With everything he touches turning to gold, Aditya is on a winning streak.
Shreya Kaushik is a student with a heart full of ambition. Young, beautiful, and reckless, Shreya speaks her mind and obsessively chases after what she wants. And what she wants is to be a bestselling author.
What happens when their worlds collide? Is it possible to love two people at the same time? Can real ambition come in the way of blind passion? Can trust once broken, be regained?
Master storyteller Ravi Subramanian, delves into the glitzy world of bestsellers and uncovers a risky dalliance between a superstar novelist and his alluring protégé.
The Bestseller She Wrote is a combustible cocktail of love, betrayal and redemption."
My Experience : Can you see from the blurb how this book can be construed as a thriller? At least that is what I did and ended up cursing myself.It started out leisurely but picked up the pace sooner than later.
I felt no connection between the title of the novel and its contents. Rather than dealing with the 'bestseller', the plot deals with an amorous love affair between Aditya, who revisits his college as a guest speaker and Shreya, a student and an aspiring writer. And thus starts the illicit affair between the mentor and the protege and Aditya's previously perfect life takes a nosedive kept afloat only by his conscience. The author does portray Aditya's dilemma eloquently- 'Nothing in life is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of his guilt'.
Aditya's wife, Maya was the one relatable character in the book but the writer did not do her justice. It frustrates me when a character starts out with depth and complexity and yet, is ignored by authors to make way for irritable protagonists.
Shreya Kaushik, the career driven IIM-B student, is smitten by Aditya's charms and ends up using him to publish her book, as Aditya finds out later to his dismay.
The Good and The Bad : Here are some of the hits and misses with the story.
- The one redeeming feature of this book is that it provides the readers with quite a few catchy quotes like:
"Life is binary in many ways. There is no way that we can move away from each other slowly and painlessly. There has to be a complete exit."
"Without these bookstores, there will be no books, and without books, there will be no culture." Amen to that.
- The chapters are short and the writing is crisp.
- That being said, the plot is entirely too predictable. And the plot twists that have been introduced fall flat. The minute you're done with the first chapter you will realise that the story revolves around an illicit affair- something Bollywood has perfected to the T and it makes ample sense as to why this book would be serving as the script for the next 'motion picture'.
- The book definitely has its Chetan Bhagat moments. Let's keep it to that.
- Character development was a nightmare. It was hard to sympathise with any of the characters in the book.
Rating : 2.5/5
Genre: Romance ThrillerPublisher: WestlandPublication Year: 2015ISBN No.: 9385152386
Price: INR 295 for around 392 pages
Final Verdict : I expected a lot from this book and it fell flat. If you are looking for a coffee table book and want a one time read to get you out of your reading flunk, you can check this one out. But beware, it reads like a bollywood movie and you would be hard pressed to find originality in the way the story is told.
Go ahead and check out 'The Bestseller She Wrote' on the Goodreads page.
P.S. I am reviewing ‘The Bestseller She Wrote’ by Ravi Subramanian as a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!
However, all views and opinions expressed in this post are my own. Thank you for reading.
